Eddie Lou Tina Claburn had no idea what was happening to her last week. By her own admission, she usually knows what is going on at the Parker Family Dentistry office in Purvis.
Claburn, 74, was being guided into the First Baptist Church of Purvis for a reception. However, she at first thought it was a farewell meal after 47 years of working as a dental assistant.
Kim Wintzell, who also works in the office, said she had to convince Claburn that retirement had not been discussed.
“When she got to the church and was about to go into the reception hall, she looked around the door and started saying, ‘No, no, no. I’m not going to do it,’” Wintzell said. “She thought it was a retirement party, so we had to convince her that she wasn’t leaving.”
Waiting for Claburn were church friends, co-workers, their families and patients that loved her. A cake bearing her photograph was the centerpiece of the reception.
However, the highlight of the afternoon was the presentation by Mississippi Dental Association First Vice President Dr. Barbara Mauldin of a certificate honoring Claburn’s years of service.
“It was awful,” Claburn said and then laughed. “I was shocked, but it was nice. I couldn’t get over it. I’m always the nosy one and I usually know what’s going on. I didn’t know what was going on until I got over to the church. They were really slick because I am always the one who is supposed to know everything.”
A day after the initial shock had worn off, Claburn was grateful for the reception.
“They were nice and I really appreciated it,” she said. “I wouldn’t have taken nothing for it.”
Claburn said she decided to go to work for Dr. Bob Parker after she moved from Quitman.
“When I lived in Quitman, I went to beauty school and worked 10 years before I moved down here,” she said. “I worked in the factory up there and in Movie Star down here. I came down here, put my application in, Dr. Parker hired me and I’ve been here ever since.”
Claburn has no immediate family after her husband died about six years ago. They did not have children. “He died after having cancer and heart trouble,” she said.
She now works for Parker’s son, Mark Parker, in the back of the office refining the dentures and plates. After 47 years, Claburn continues to love the job.
“I always wanted to be a nurse, but I had to go to school,” she said. “This was the closest thing to it. I enjoy seeing the people and the people like me. And I keep up with them. I don’t clean the teeth, but sometimes I help them with fillings. I work in the back with bites and impressions. Sometimes, I help them when they have immediate dentures. I still do some, but not as much as I did.”
Claburn also enjoys being around her co-workers. “These girls, I wouldn’t take nothing for them.”
